A History of Milan under the Sforza

THE March of Ancona, which formed the chief scene of Sforza's activities during the next fourteen years, is a
narrow strip of country bounded on the north and south by
Romagna and the Kingdom of Naples, on the west by the
Apennines, and on the east by the sea. It has been said
that Romagna was the centre of the nervous system of Italy,
and the description is equally applicable to the March. As
Romagna, the March of Ancona formed part of the estates of
the Church, but the weakness of the papal power during the
exile and schism had enabled local despots to establish themselves in the chief towns of both districts. Unable to overthrow these usurpers, the Pope had in many cases saved his
dignity by making them Papal Vicars of the towns which they
had mastered. The arrangement found favour with the Italian
powers, who asked nothing better than to see the March weak
and divided. For the March, no less than Romagna, was
essentially a border province -- a highway between north and
south. Hence its destinies were closely watched by each of
the five States, and the undue preponderance of any one
Power in that quarter at once aroused the suspicions of the
other four. When Francesco Sforza first entered the March, the
whole territory was given over to misrule. The petty despots
were too weak to be anything but the worst and most tyrannical of sovereigns. They held their own towns by violence, while
they sought to obtain those of their neighbours by treachery.
Perpetual feuds, bad government and oppression wrought
havoc throughout their dominions. The towns which were

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